With "Iron Man 2" hitting theaters today, the Marvel movie universe is on everyone's minds lately — and we're not alone in wondering what the new film could mean for those that follow it.

How will the events of "Iron Man 2" affect "Thor," "Captain America" and "Avengers"? Heck, how will they affect "Iron Man 3"?

MTV News asked that very question of director Jon Favreau, who shared some thoughts on the franchise's future and said he still plans to get Iron Man's arch-enemy, The Mandarin, into the picture for the third installment.

"I would like 'Iron Man 3' to pay it off, but there's so much I don't understand yet about what the world is going to be like then," said Favreau. "You've got 'Thor,' 'Captain America,' 'Avengers' all happening with different directors before 'Iron Man 3' — and that's all going to affect 'Iron Man 3.'"

"What's going to have happened by then?" he asked. "With 'Thor,' you're going to have all this supernatural stuff happening and magic and there's a lot of stuff going on in the world. If it's going to match the comic books, it's going to be incredibly complex for film."

As for Iron Man's ten-ringed nemesis The Mandarin, Favreau said the villain is still very much in play for the third film — but bringing him to the screen isn't without its issues.

"You have to do The Mandarin," he said. "The problem with The Mandarin is, the way it's depicted in the comic books, you don't want to see that. He also has 10 magical rings, and it just doesn't feel right for our thing, so it's either tech-based or the rings are not really rings."

"But maybe with 'Thor' and all those others you'll introduce magic to that world and it won't seem so out of place," he said.

Would you like to see Mandarin in the "Iron Man" movies? Let us know what you think in the comment section or on Twitter!